November 6: Boston - Toronto

I left Brookline, MA, shortly after 9:00 a.m. Drove out the Mass Turnpike in rain, past Springfield and through Western Massachusetts to Albany.

There, under blue skies, sunshine and pert cotton candy clouds I picked up the Thomas Dewey Throughway, heading west through Schenedtady, Utica, Syracuse, south of Rochester and on to Buffalo.


The sky got darker and darker as I rolled west. The traffic coming toward me on the other side of the motorway became frost-, then snow-covered. As I aproached Buffalo, the white stuff started to come down. First, light, directionless flakes stumbled their way slowly to the ground. Then the snow got wetter, heavier, and far more determined.

The radio announced a “lake effect” snow storm, with eight inches of accumulation in a short time. It was almost a whiteout. I passed three accidents at the side of the road, and the heavy snow, compressed by the wheels of the traffic, became rough ice on the ground. I was unhappy about the conditions, but very pleased in the knowledge that I had just put four new snow tires on the car.

In almost an instant, on the expressway from Cheektowaga to Tonawanda, the storm disappeared. The evening became crisp, clear and windy. There was a great view of the funny, reedy skyscrapers that surround Niagara Falls, and also the spray rising into the sky, as the highway snaked towards Canada.

The border crossing involved a 20-minute wait, and then was uncomplicated:

“Why are you coming to Canada?”

“To see an old friend.”

“Where does your friend live?”

“Toronto.”

“Are you bringing any liquor”

“Nope.”

“Have a great time!”



This was totally different from my last arrival in Canada, when immigration at the airport was very difficult indeed:

“Why are you coming to Canada?”

“To see an old friend and her new baby.”

“Oh. How old is the baby?”

“I think about seven months.”

“That’s not such a new baby.”

“Well, I guess it still seems pretty new to me.”

“Are you bringing any gifts valued at more than $60?”

“No.”

“What, no gift worth more than $60 for the new baby?????”

Etc., etc.

I arrived at Gwen’s new house a little before 7:00 p.m., after driving through Tornonto, which is colorful at night. Gwen's parents were there, as were Kayla and Buddy the dog. Kayla, now a year old, is twice the size she was when I saw her last, and has a thick head of red hair. She went right to bed, and the rest of us had adult (and dog) drinks, dinner, and a wonderful catch-up.

A big shout-out to the Tom Tom device that I bought and used to navigate from Boston to Toronto: minimal preparation, little anxiety about whether I was on the right route or not, and gentle, precise verbal exhortations before each tun throughout the five hundred and forty-something mile journey. Nice.